Antique Ultimatum
by scoutfinches
Summary: Fifteen year old Michelle Webster is just an ordinary Indiana teenager, until one day, her father buys an antique cuckoo clock, and she falls back in time, with only one way to get out.
1. Chapter 1

_There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone._

Speaking of time and timelessness, let's head to a small, Indiana town and meet a family.

The Webster family, a family headed into the Twilight Zone.

William Webster is forty eight years old. He's an optometrist, a family man, and an antique enthusiast. That very afternoon, he took his wife, daughter, and son to Fort Wayne to but an antique cuckoo clock, on he had his eye on for years.

"Tara, isn't it beautiful?" He asked his wife as they looked at the clock, which now adorned the den.

"To be honest, Will, it's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. But you like it and you bought it. I'll compromise."

"And what about you, Michelle?"

"Je voudrais pas cuckoo, pa pere." She spoke Her French, which she had to practice for school. "Non merci."

 _It's almost as ugly as his bald spot, and Tommy's big fat mouth._

At fifteen, Michelle was a smart girl, and hated it when he nuisance of a brother, Tommy, tried to ruin Her good time.

He was in sports and she wasn't. So what? To him, it was like war. Because that's what people in this town were into.

 _They say Leo is the sports capital of Indiana. What a bunch of garbage._

Tommy was thirteen. He was daddy's little angel. And the Webster family instigator.

"What do you think, Tommy?"

"Dad, it's great!"

Will smiled, "I knew you'd agree with me! That's my boy!"

 _He's always got to please Daddy, doesn't he?_

Tara rolled her eyes and looked at Michelle. They were thinking the same thing. And there was not one thing they could do about it.

"Tommy, did you know what the man at the store said about this clock? "

"No, Dad! Tell me! "

"Well, son, he said that this clock is magical. "

"How exactly is this thing magical? It's the ugliest clock I've ever seen! " Michelle commented, while tying her dark brown hair in a ponytail.

"Well, as I was saying, this clock is magical. The man didn't know exactly how it was magical, but whoever finds the magic is doomed." Will glared straight at his daughter. It caused her to be frightened and leave the room.

 _I don't think I should fear that he'd use this 'magic' on me.. I mean, he'd be the one that'd be doomed and all._

Michelle and her dad never really got along. Their relationship was strained. He had no clue how to live with women,as his own wife was even planning to leave him.

"Take your antiques somewhere else! "

Another thing, again, Tommy was the king of the house, just about. Right alongside his father. He got everything he wanted and never got in trouble. That is, until that night before bed.

Michelle was just walking up the stairs when she heard it.

"Tommy, if you touch the clock again, you'll be in big trouble!"

Tommy said nothing and sped up the stairs, right in his bedroom door.

This was her chance. After thirteen years of constant belittlement by her brother, this was her chance to get back at him.

Because sometimes, he got Her good. _Real_ good.

One instance was a few weeks earlier, when Michelle wanted to take a walk in the woods. So, she did, and came back to see blood all over the curb, leading right back into the woods again.

 _Crime? Here? No, that's nonsense!_

So, being a bit curious, she followed the trail, where a squirrel marionette was waiting. Tommy was up in the tree, waiting as well.

When she arrived, the marionette attacked her. After that, one of Tommy's friends squirted ketchup, the so-called blood, right in her face.

"Michelle pas belle!" They shouted, having picked up her French to use as insults.

Michelle snatched the bottle and followed the boys back home. She tried to squirt ketchup on their faces, but the door shut right then, causing the beautiful front door that Tara spent days painting was ruined.

Michelle rang the doorbell and waited for her mother to answer.

When she saw her daughter, Tommy was standing next to her.

"What did you do? " She asked Michelle.

"Tommy did it! I just wanted to take a walk!"

"Sure, sure. Clean yourself up, and clean up that mess too." Tara walked away and left Tommy alone at the door.

"I got you good! Almost as good as at your birthday party!" Michelle groaned, remembering that afternoon a few months earlier.

She was opening presents when her mother had asked her to help with the cake.

She agreed and went to the kitchen to take the cake to the porch.

She took the cake, which was adorned with her name and flowers, and started walking. As she arrived to the glass door, she felt a hand over her ankle, and before she knew what was happening, she had landed face first into her birthday cake.

Her friends laughed at first, but were later unamused by Tommy's actions. Her mother was understanding, and went to town to buy a new cake.

To this day, Tommy still laughed about it.

And Michelle finally had a chance to get back at him. When the clock struck twelve, she grabbed the bird and twisted it's head backwards.

 _He'll get in ttrouble, I'm sure of it!_

She ran to her bedroom and went to bed.

And she woke up somewhere else.


	2. Chapter 2

Happy Birthday, honey!"

Michelle woke up to her mother's cheery voice. She rubbed her eyes, a bit confused, and sat up on her bed.

"What?" She looked at her smiling mother, who tied her blonde hair in a ponytail.

"You're fifteen, honey! Happy Birthday!"

 _I've been fifteen for a wwhile now... What's going on here?_

"Yay!" Michelle tried hard not to be sarcastic, but her mother heard her anyway. She rolled her eyes and walked out the door.

That was when Michelle realized something awfully drastic.

She was back in a time by a few months.

It was her fifteenth birthday. And it was all because of that cuckoo clock.

 _Curse my dad and his antiques! Curse him, curse him!_

Michelle then headed down the stairs, to find that the clock was in fact *not* in the den.

She went to the kitchen and saw her mother making breakfast.

"Blueberry pancakes, your favorite!"

Her mother _always_ made her blueberry pancakes, bacon, and hash browns for her birthday breakfast. Ever since she was a little girl, and even on school mornings.

"Great! Thank you!" One thing Michelle _didn't_ mind was the fact she got to eat her birthday breakfast again.

But she wanted out. Back to her older days again, back to school and French class and her life again.

 _Joyeux Anniversaire!_

The thought of redoing her birthday party was utterly absurb, but she had no choice.

She had to do it. No buts about it.

After she finished the last of her orange juice, she ran upstairs to get dressed. She put on the same dress as she had the time before. A vintage, floral dress with a Peter Pan collar.

When her makeup and hair were ready, she started to greet Her friends at the door. Tommy was eagerly watching, waiting to find a way to sabotage it all.

She relentlessly begged her mother to keep him away from her party.

"Dear, your friends love him! He'll behave!"

 _Sure, Mom. He_ _ **never**_ _behaves!_

The time came for presents, and she was beginning to dread it. She opened the same gifts, said the same things, and kept watching for Tommy.

"Michelle? Can you help me with the cake?"

"Uh huh!" Michelle rushed to the kitchen and saw the beautifully decorated cake, wanting to do anything to pick it up.

She looked in all directions for her brother's small hands on the floor, and shockingly found it in front of the first entrance to the living room.

So, Michelle took the second entrance, and went too quickly and put the cake on the table unscathed.

"That was a close one, Michelle!" Her best friend, Sara, shouts.

The others applauded Michelle for diverting the disaster.

"Tommy, why are you even here anyway?" Asked another friend, Rocky.

"Mom said I could be!"

"To do what? Stir up trouble? "

"Maybe.." He runs off, leaving the girls alone.

Rocky, with her short, dark hair, laughed over her victory against Tommy.

The thing was, Tommy not only teased his sister, but her friends as well.

There were six girls including Michelle at the party, and at one point, they all fell victim at one time or another.

Rocky was teased for her pale skin and dark hair.

Sara was teased for her freckles and her tall stature.

Belinda was teased for being black, which was apparently an issue for Tommy.

Layla was teased for her eyes, because one was green and one was blue.

Martha was teased for her short toes, out of all things.

And finally, Michelle was teased simply because she was his sister.

The day went well after Tommy left, and Michelle made a wish.

 _I wish to go back to my old... New life. Home._

The cake was delicious. It was a chocolate and vanilla marble swirl. Along with the cake, they ate ice cream.

It was almost perfect. The only problem was that it wasn't the present.

After her friends left, Michelle said she was taking a walk.

In reality, she rode the metro bus to Fort Wayne, to the antique mall.

Upon arrival, she saw the clock in the front window.

Sadly, the store was closed.

That's when she remembered.

It was Memorial Day. A holiday. And _nothing_ could keep _anything_ open.

She went home and went to bed, utterly miserable.

 _Take me home. Please, take me home!_

Sadly, the clock had thought otherwise.

The clock thought otherwise by sending Michelle even further backwards.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning was cold and rainy, just as she remembered it.

Instead of her mother's voice, the alarm clock woke her up.

It wasn't a special day, not at all. In a way, for some, it was.

It was the last day of sixth grade. The last day at the elementary school before their move to the big high school. For the students with status, life was looking up. For students like Michelle, _especially_ under her circumstances, it was anything _but_ wonderful.

When Michelle opened her eyes and looked around her bedroom, she tried hard to keep in her scream.

It was her princess bedroom. Her little girl bedroom. And she was planning to redo it, as it had been in the seventh grade. But she realized that she was twelve once again, and she'd have to live through yet another day of torture.

So, she got ready for school. She brushed her teeth and combed her hair, and put on the most mature outfit she could find in her closet. Then, when she went downstairs and grabbed her things for school.

She skipped breakfast. She couldn't stomach what was happening to her.

She walked to the bus stop in the rain, and stood there with the other kids who waited there.

Rocky, a fourth grader and friend of Tommy's, who was yet to show up, and Paul.

 _Oh, dear. I remember Paul!_

Paul was her crush. He was a handsome boy, with dark hair and striking blue eyes. She knew other girls had crushes on him, and that she didn't stand a chance. Even in high school, she still swooned over Paul. By then, she knew, he was dating a cheerleader. It was all just a fantasy, then and later. It made no difference.

She shivered in the rain and tried to remember what happened that day. The whole of it, because to tell you the truth, she didn't. It was too far back to remember.

"Good morning, Michelle! Isn't today exciting?" It was Rocky, who even then had dark, frizzy hair. She adjusted her glasses and wiped the rain from them.

"No, not really." She kept watching in the rain.

"Not really? It's our last day at Leo El! We've got a whole new horizon ahead of us!"

"Not really. It's just a bigger school. The same people, the same classes, and the same everything.

"Michelle was right, remembering her own experiences in the bigger school. Everything terrible about society was learned in places like those. Like the school, and like the town of Leo itself.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No."

Tommy was running to the bus stop as the bus was coming by.

As Michelle prepared to get on the bus, Tommy put his hand underneath her ankle. The plan that failed at her birthday party worked on the bus. Michelle landed face first on the steps, and scraped her face.

Every student in the bus and on the bus stop laughed.

Michelle, unamused, picked herself up and sat in the back of the bus alone, waiting patiently to arrive at school. She headed to her classroom and sat at her desk, waiting for the festivities to begin.

On the last day of school at Leo Elementary, they had a field day. Out by the playground and the blacktop, they put out bouncy houses and other attractions. Ice cream, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and soda pop was readily available. But now, with the rain, the school had to figure out another way to celebrate.

An announcement over the intercom gave the school the answer to their question.

"Today, we'll have an indoor field day! All bouncy houses and other this will be in the gymnasium. Lunch will be served in the cafeteria. Thank you for listening."

So, the students piled in the gym by grade. First, the fourth graders, then the fifth graders, and then, the sixth graders.

When the sixth graders finally got their chance at the gym, they took it and grasped it like they never had to before. The bouncy houses were all full, which left Michelle out of the fun. She went to the cafeteria to get a hamburger and a soda, and began to eat.

She kept her eyes shut, trying to pretend she was fifteen. Trying to think of how to get to the antiques shop.

"Uh... Michelle? Can I sit here?" It was Paul.

"Oh! Sure!"  
Paul sat across from her, observing hee distressed expression. She tried to ignore him while eating her hamburger and drinking her Pepsi.

"What's wrong?" He asked, while putting ketchup on his hot dog.

"I wish I could say it without sounding crazy. I really do. It'd help to talk to someone."

Her voice was higher and her hair was shorter, at her shoulders. She was skinny and had yet to gain any womanly features. Paul was of course, cute, but was almost the same way.

"Well, I'm fifteen. I'm going backwards in time, but in my body."

Paul chuckled, "Well, I think that's pretty cool! It sounds like a good book! What am I doing at fifteen?"

She grinned and looked at his future girlfriend from across the room. Then, she was nerdy. Covered in acne and wearing big, bulky glasses.

"You'll be dating Rachel. And on the varsity football team."

"No way! Her?"

Yeah. Her. She becomes really pretty. She's got potential."

"Well, I'll believe it when I see it. And what about you? What will _you_ be doing?"

"The exact same thing I'm doing now. Nothing."

"Well, are you sure about that?" Paul asked.

She sighed. "Yeah. Thanks for sitting with me."

"No problem."

Michelle's friends never caught up with her. And Paul's never did either. So, Michelle and Paul stuck together. They never went to the bouncy houses or outside after it stopped raining. They sat and spoke at their table until school was out.

"See you next year!" Paul shouted, as they parted ways at the bus stop.

"See you too!" Michelle answered back, as she walked in the direction of her house.

Dinner was unappealing. Tuna casserole.

 _Yuck!_

Before she knew it, the day was over, and she went to bed.

 _Don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep! You can't fall asleep!_

Her pleas didn't matter. She did anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

"Happy Birthday!"

She woke up again, in her princess room. She woke up, once again, frightened.

A look at her mother said it all.

Her hair was blonde. Her hair was blonde during the majority of Michelle's childhood, until she dyed it brown when she began middle school.

She went back in time. Again. And she'd do it until she couldn't anymore.

"Thank you, Mom! Can I have some breakfast?"

Her mother laughed. "Breakfast? Dear, your party starts in a few hours! You have to get ready! You'll be eating plenty of cake later!"

"Well, I guess you're right. "

Michelle remembered having a birthday breakfast *every* sunglass birthday morning. No matter what. She felt a little betrayed. Like something was up.

She took a shower, as told to by her mother. And she brushed her teeth, again, like her mother told her to.

They waited for her hair to dry before curling it to be ready for her party.

Her mother let her curl her hair in the kitchen so she could look out the window.

It was bright and beautiful. A perfect day.

When her mother let her curlers sit in her hair, she looked for the calendar, which normally hung on the pantry door.

Luckily for Michelle, it was there.

And the year was 2009. The day was her tenth birthday.

And she was crushed. Absolutely crushed.

"Okay.. While we're wait, you can put on your dress, dear. It's in the bathroom."

"Okay, Mom." Michelle went to the bathroom and picked up her yellow princess dress.

It seemed like more of a younger thing to do, having a princess party and all, but Michelle and the other girls thought it'd be fun. Well, the first time around.

 _I look like a fool! An utter fool! I'm fifteen! I'm not.. I am.. Ten. Today._

She looked at all of her surroundings, taking a deep breath. The zipper of her dress didn't zip. That was *not* good.

She took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.

Two of her friends, Rocky and Layla, who were adorned in similar attire.

"Happy Birthday!" They shouted to a frightened Michelle.

Michelle replied with a sheepish smile. the girls looked at her, confused, and walked up to her.

"What's the matter?" Rocky asked, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"My dress won't zip. I feel like an idiot. Like I want to cancel my party. "

The doorbell rang, interrupting the conversation for a single second.

"I just feel awful! And I don't even have my curlers out yet!"

Layla smile at her reassuringly. "It's just us girls! We only wanted to do this for fun! It's fine. Curlers or no curlers, and even with the broken zipper. Belinda's here. She Just walked in. Let's all get ready to have a good time! Okay!"

Michelle nodded her head. "Okay."

And Layla was right. The party _was_ fun. And though she was fifteen in her head, she still wasn't opposed to running around in her princess dress. Or playing with dolls or anything, as she was when she woke up.

 _I wish I didn't have to grow up. I wanted to be a kkid forever... Maybe I still do. I don't know. I just don't know..._

The party was almost over and most of the girls left. But not without a joke from Tommy.

As each of the remaining girls walked out of the front door, he tripped them. And as Michelle prepared to walk out the door, he tripped her too.

 _I had fun today. And yesterday too. But I can't go on like this.. Being a kid is great, but I've got to grow up. I've got to! So I won't cease to exist !_

She took a bus to downtown Fort Wayne, and her mother followed her every step.

She ended up at the antique mall, staring the clock down in the front window.

*Store closed. Off for vacation. Searching for new treasures. Will be back in June. - Mike*

The years really _had_ gone backwards. Mike, an old retiree, still owned the store in 2009, before his younger son took over.

"Michelle!" Her mother screamed Her name, running frantically to her. "Dear, what are you doing?"

"Mom, I need the clock.. I'm fifteen, Mom! I need to go home!"

"Dear, what are you talking about?"

"That cuckoo clock! In the window! Dad bought it when I was fifteen! I'm messed with it and got sent back here!"

Tara laughed and picked up her daughter. "That's a creative story, but you're right.. Your father's been saving for years to buy that cuckoo clock. He says by the time you're fifteen, he'll have enough money to buy it. How did you know that?"

"Because when I was fifteen, he bought it!"

"You must've had a bad dream, dear. Let's go home. It's been a long day."

 _I know, it really has.._

By the time Tara arrived at her parking space, her daughter fell asleep in her arms.

Her daughter was also propelling further back in time. Further in The Twilight Zone.


	5. Chapter 5

"Honey! Wake up!" A happy, excited Tara woke opened the door. "It's time for school!"

Tara wore black rimmed glasses, and had shorter blonde hair, but still called upon her daughter with complete enthusiasm.

For a second, Michelle thought that it was a normal day, until saw noticed three things.

One of which was that she was awoken by the warm voice of her mother instead of the cold beep of the alarm clock.

The second one was that she was in her old bedroom, before her she and Tony switched places.

Lastly, she was five years old. She had become younger. Again. And this routine was growing really old really fast.

 _No. Way._

"I do?" Michelle asked, trying to remember what happened that day ten years ago.

"Yes, it's your first day of kindergarten! I picked out a splendid outfit for you! Come on, let's eat some breakfast first! "

A bowl of Fruit Loops was given To Michelle. She then brushed her teeth and was given her clothes. She was then driven to school by her mother, this was before her mother earned Her degree in beauty school.

The ride felt a little long, with the annoying children's music and seeing both of her mother's feet on the brakes and gas.

 _Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream!_

Her fifteen year old mind was remembering driver's education, which she wanted to continue awfully bad, if she could ever get out of her dilemma.

 _It's an automatic, Mom! Put your left foot down!_

Her mother would've been confused by the young girl's pleas, so she kept her annoyance to herself.

 _I can't stand this song, make it stop!_

Michelle was concerned about school, and the fact that her mother put the sane nursery rhyme on repeat.

After what felt like years, they pulled into the elementary school carpool line.

 _Life is but a dream..._

A kiss from her mother led her to a familiar, yet unfamiliar setting.

The kindergarten classroom.

Ten years and zero minutes passed simultaneously, and both memories and glimpses of the future flashed before Michelle's small eyes.

"Good morning!" A tall woman shouted. "Welcome to Miss Lancaster's Morning Kindergarten! What's your name, dear?"

The woman wore black rimmed glasses, like her mother's And kept trying to move her red hair from her face.

Michelle remembered this woman vividly, and her heart raced, wondering where she was in real, true time.

"Michelle." She tried to sound quiet. And was planning to see how the unnaturally happy woman would react next.

"Everyone, say hello to Michelle!"

The kindergarten class all called to her, and it made her quite uncomfortable.

 _This... I just don't like this. If only they could see, I'm not a kid anymore! I'm not!_

"Sit in the circle with everyone, Michelle! We'll all introduce ourselves."

She sat uncomfortably next to her friend Rocky, whom she met in nursery school. Rocky's hair was short and curled back then, like little orphan Annie.

 _Jesus, iI don't want to do all of this again! I feel like I've been held back!_

"My name is Miss Lancaster. I'm twenty years old. And this is my very first kindergarten class! "

 _I don't think this happy streak lasts, iI remember her screaming at me..._

The introductions lingered until Michelle was finally chosen.

"My name's Michelle. I'm fine and I like... Princesses."

 _Act like a little girl. PPlease don't screw this up!_

They all went into their so-called "buddy groups". Michelle, Rocky, and one the friends Michelle remembered meeting that day, Belinda.

Belinda, from what she knew was the only minority in their class, at the time. She was short for her age, and skinny too. She wore her hair in braids, with the little balled ponytail holders at the ends.

 _Exactly as how I remember.._

"What's your name?" Belinda asked Rocky first, who answered, and then Michelle.

"I'm Michelle."

"Like the Beatles song! "

"Yeah. My dad loves them. My little brother's named after the pinball wizard."

"Cool. Who's he?" Belinda asked, as she began a coloring page, our project for the morning.

"He's the blind and deaf kid who plays the best pinball."

"How? He can't see. He can't hear."

"He smells it. And he wins."

"That's cool. Really cool. "

"Yeah. "

The next lesson was easy. Miss Lancaster talked to the children, and had them pick out their favorite colors by name.

"Miss Lancaster! " Michelle shouted. "Miss Lancaster!"

"Yes, Michelle."

"Don't you think this lesson is too easy? "

"No, dear. I don't." Miss Lancaster walked to her desk and came back with the newspaper.

"Read this article, and then tell us if _that's_ too easy!"

The news was pretty bland that year, from what Michelle remembered. What she was told to read was a recipe. For brownies.

And she read it almost fluently, faking stutters to look more her age.

"Well, who taught you to read?"

"My father." It was true, he had. And she was pretty fluent by age five, and was reading chapter books.

"Tell him to stop, it's hindering your progress. If you can, please go sit. In the corner. By my desk. "

Michelle obeyed, and the others protested until Miss Lancaster threatened them with the corner as well.

 _This couldn't get any worse! No way!_

Michelle was saved by the lunch bell a few minutes later and went to eat with her buddy group and the other kindergarten class from the room next door.

"I'm sorry about this morning." Michelle said, "Girls our age shouldn't know how to read."

"No! That was super cool!" Belinda chimed in, "You were great."

Recess was wonderful, for a while. The girls swung on the swings and laughed and talked.

That is, until a group of boys tried to commandeer the swings.

"We got here first. " Rocky explained. "These are our swings! "

"No! " The boy shouted back, "Those are everyone's swings! "

Rocky huffed. "We claimed them and are using them. Come back when we're done. "

"You _are_ done! "

Michelle was frustrated by watching this stupid boy try to take the swings. And she pounced on him. Punching and hitting him until Miss Lancaster pulled her away.

"It's back to the corner for you, missy!"

Indeed, it was. And that meant Michelle had plenty of time to think, and make realizations.

 _That boy...That boy was Paul!_

Time moved slowly in the corner, as it always did. And leaving that day brought Michelle no salvation.

She wasn't going to get to the clock.

And she realized she was only going further back in time, and more slowly through it as well.


	6. Chapter 6

It's one thing to be young again, but it's another to be _young_ again.

Morning typically beckoned either a call from her mother or an alarm clock, but that morning, she awoke to a dreadful smell.

Her own smell. Her waste.

She wanted to speak. She wanted to walk, but all she could do was just sit and cry.

 _If words can't come out, tears will_

She was in Tommy's room, her old room, and her nursery.

She was a baby. She realized this was her last chance to save herself. And she *had* to make it work this time.

"Oh no! Baby's got a smelly diaper again, doesn't she?"

It was her father. And then, he had hair. A whole head full of thick, brown hair.

Yes, _Dad! It's true. Help me, please!_

Instead of words, tears were flowing down her cheeks and screams came from her lips.

When the horrific ordeal was over, her mother walked in the room. She carried a bottle of formula, and had her dark hair cut above her shoulders in wavy layers.

 _Ugh. The nnineties were ridiculous!_

"I heard her crying... Did she need some formula?" Tara looked down at her baby daughter, with one hand on the bottle and the other on her glasses.

"No, she needed her diaper. Keep that for later, though. We might need it."

Tara then went to repacking her diaper bag, because she had a feeling they were going out soon.

"Where do you want to go? The grocery store?"

Michelle prepared to scream, but kept herself quiet after her father spoke.

"No. You want to get something to eat?" Will suggested to his wife.

"No.. What about Michelle?"

"You're right. You want to go to the antique mall? I heard they've got this new clock that Mike said I should check out. He said it was my taste."

Tara laughed, "What exactly is your taste, huh?"

"Well, whatever that clock is. Anyway, we should go look. I think it'd be pretty cool."

Michelle laughed as best as she could, to try and steer her parents in the right direction.

Will laughed along with her, "Well, Michelle agrees too! Come on, honey. Let's go!"

The drive to downtown Fort Wayne, as always, was a long one. Michelle had absolutely no way whatsoever to entertain herself. And with a teenage mind in a one year old infant's body, it was impossible.

 _At least they're going.. TThey've ought to give me a chance! I can sneak to the clock.. Somehow._

When they finally arrived at the antique mall, Michelle felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. As her mother prepared her stroller, she tried to keep herself from getting to excited.

"Are you ready, dear?"

"Yeah, come on. Let's check out that clock of yours."

Tara sighed, not looking forward to making yet another expensive antique purchase. Most qualities of her husband were not just liked, but loved by her, except her antique purchasing tendencies, which took money from her wallet. Money in which a wife would buy clothes, if they had a normal marriage. Which in that way, they didn't.

They store smelt dusty, and they walls were lined with shelves and trinkets, waiting to be touched by a loving owner's hands.

Mike, at that time, just beginning to reach his fifties, walked up to the family; he was expecting them.

Mike smiled, said hello, and asked if they came to see the clock. He twirled his graying mustache with his left fingers as Will answered. Yes, they did come for the clock.

Before long, the four were gathered in front of the clock. Since it had arrived the day before, it sat behind a coffee table, which was covered with an uneven stack of magazines.

"Willie, you want to know something interesting about this clock?"

Will looked over the cuckoo clock, admiring it's proclaimed glory. "Yeah. Tell me *everything*."

"Well, Willie, this clock is supposedly magical. Anyone who tinkers with it Will fall under some kind of curse. I can't exactly tell you what that is, but that's what the man told me when I bought it from him. It's got all of those numbers up there, zero to ninety nine, to represent years. If one falls off, something that happens then Will be altered forever."

"Nonsense! " Prior to this period in his life, Will wasn't one to believe in tall tales.

"Nonsense, well, I'm not so sure about that. That man was absolutely serious about it when he came in. Like something actually happened to him or something."

Will rubbed his chin in thought, and then asked to talk numbers with Mike.

"How long will it take to save up for this thing?"

All three adults were mindlessly enamored about the clock, leaving Michelle's stroller behind, Right in front of it.

The hour was to strike in two minutes. To three o'clock in the afternoon.

 _This is my chance.. I bbetter not screw it up! I can't. Or I'm done for. Literally._

She was able to unbuckle herself from her stroller, due to her much older mindset, and began to climb the coffee table.

That itself was a challenge, as her arms and legs were chubby and didn't account for much.

 _One minute.. Oh, dear!_

She then tried to keep a dry grip on each of the books to make her way right to the top, where the bird was hiding behind hickory doors, waiting.

Again, it took multiple attempts, but she made it right to the top. Waiting for the clock to strike three.

She stood and turned her head. Nobody was watching her. She was I'm the clear.

 _Ten, nine, eight, seven.._

Tara mentioned Her name, but made no attempt to run after her.

 _Whew! What a close one!_

For that moment, ten seconds seemed to go slowly. As I explained earlier, the older you are, the faster the hands of the clock turn.

 _Three, two, one!_

The bird's head came out, and Michelle turned it's head with such force that it loudly cracked. A gust of air pulled her backwards, and she ended up back in her house.

"Michelle!" Her father's voice shouted, "I told you already! Don't mess with that clock! "

She had her hands on the wood floor, her hands with long, lean, teenage fingers.

She was in the den, where she remembered the clock, standing in the corner.

"Sorry, Dad." She said, before dusting off her dress.

She was wearing a nice dress. And had her hair curled. She was even wearing her mother's makeup.

"You better be sorry! Paul's coming to pick you up in ten minutes! Did you forget you had a dance to go to?"

Michelle nodded her head, "Yeah. Thanks, Dad."

 _Paul? Wait, what?_

She walked through the family room to find her mother when she noticed something strange.

The family pictures. There was her mother, her father, but no sight of Tommy.

She remembered Mike's notion about the clock, and the years. She headed back and saw something even more peculiar.

The number two was missing. Tommy was born in 2002.

 _Oh dear! I killed him!_

She had no time to react, the doorbell rang. Her father beat her.

"Mr. Webster? Is Michelle ready?" It was Paul.

"Yes, I'll tell her you're here. Just a minute."

As her father was halfway down the kitchen hallway, she was already at the door, trying to forget about Tommy.

Paul tried to keep his smile in as he saw her.

"You look beautiful."

Michelle blushed, "Thank you."

He handed her a bouquet of roses. She thanked him again.

"Are you ready to go?"

She nodded her head, wanting to take comfort in Paul, and to leave her father be.

"Mr. Webster, we're leaving!"

"Be back by eleven, okay? Be good! "

"Yes, sir!" Paul answered, before walking Michelle outside and shutting the door behind them.

Will watched the near the driveway, when Paul abruptly stopped.

He stood close to Michelle, he put an arm around her shoulder and kissed her lips.

Will heartily chuckled as he watched.

"Oh, kids!" He waited until they were gone. Then he went to the fridge to grab himself a beer.

He was still laughing in his head, "Oh, those kids!"

 _Oh, he's right. Those. Kids. Every child, every kid, has bouts of jealousy at times. On the outside, they display no emotion. On the inside, they rage like a fire. Multiple children tried to attempt felonies similar to the one of Michelle Webster. Sometimes, they worked. And other times, they didn't. Well, as you see, none of this matters anymore. None of it matters, in The Twilight Zone._


End file.
